Now that the Big Three U.S. airlines have rolled out bare-bones Basic Economy fares in their domestic networks, they’re starting to take aim at international markets.

Both Delta and American are bringing the controversial lowball pricing option to some international flights, and some foreign carriers – specifically, Aer Lingus and Scandinavian Airlines – are doing the same as the transatlantic competition from carriers like Norwegian starts to bite.

Six weeks ago, Delta broadened its transatlantic fare lineup when it started selling Comfort+ seating on transatlantic flights for travel starting January 22. And this week Delta announced that Basic Economy fares are now available on more than half of its flights to Europe for travel starting April 10.

And it’s not just Delta. The airline said that on the same date, its partners Air France-KLM and Alitalia will each introduce “a similar basic fare product across the Atlantic.”

“As part of its Basic Economy expansion, Delta is introducing a Basic Economy first checked bag fee for trans-Atlantic routes only,” the company said. “The fee will be standard for Air France-KLM and Alitalia, along with no seat assignments and tickets not being changeable.”

Forbes is reporting that Delta’s new fee on a first checked bag for international Basic Economy travelers will be a stiff $60, and a second checked bag will cost $100.

Basic economy purchasers won’t get a seat assignment until they check in, and they will board last, Delta said. Tickets can’t be changed or refunded, and purchasers can’t get paid or complimentary upgrades, even with Medallion status (although they will still earn Medallion-qualifying miles and dollars).

Delta said it would closely align its international Basic Economy fare restrictions with its domestic rules, which allow purchasers to carry on a bag that can be stowed in the overhead bin. American’s and United’s domestic Basic Economy prices only allow buyers to carry on an item that fits under the seat.

Reports out of Dallas this week said that American Airlines is now offering its own similar no-frills Basic Economy pricing on select international routes – specifically, to most of its destinations in Mexico and the Caribbean. There are a few exceptions, including service to Cuba, to San Juan, and to a couple of Mexican destinations. American apparently hasn’t yet put the Basic Economy option on transatlantic flights.

While the big U.S. airlines introduced Basic Economy fares in domestic markets ostensibly to offer pricing levels competitive with fast-growing ultra-low-cost carriers like Spirit and Frontier, critics allege that the airlines’ real intention is to lure customers in with a low fare but then up-sell them to a regular economy seat with a few more frills. In fact, some allege that airlines have simply re-labeled their previous lowest economy fares as Basic Economy.

SAS is adding new ‘Go Light’ low-frills fares in U.S. markets this month. (Image: SAS)

Delta isn’t the first to bring new low- or no-frills fares to the transatlantic market. A few months ago, Aer Lingus rolled out a new pricing category called Saver fares on flights between Dublin and the U.S. The only things included in that fare are a seat, an in-flight meal and a 10 kg. (22 lbs.) hand luggage allowance.

And effective December 14, SAS will start offering discounted “Go Light” fares on its routes between Scandinavia and the U.S., designed for customers who only have carry-on bags. The new category was introduced on the airline’s intra-European routes in 2015. Except for a checked bag, Go Light fare buyers get the same treatment and service as purchasers of the airline’s regular economy pricing, called Go fares.

Air Canada Express will add new U.S. routes with regional jets. (Image: Air Canada/Skyregional)

In international route news, Air Canada and American have both announced plans to expand service between the U.S. and Canada; Aer Lingus comes to Seattle next year; low-cost carriers Norwegian and WOW will increase capacity to the U.S. in 2018; Copa boosts West Coast frequencies; Lufthansa’s Eurowings subsidiary sets more U.S. routes; and Thomas Cook Airlines comes to New York JFK.

Air Canada has unveiled plans to add new service to six U.S. cities next spring, including San Francisco and Sacramento. All the routes will be operated as Air Canada Express, with 76-seat or 50-seat regional jets. On May 1, the airline will kick off daily flights between San Francisco and Edmonton with a 76-seat aircraft, as well as daily Omaha-Toronto service, using a 50-seat plane. May 17 is the launch date for 76-seat regional jet service between Sacramento and Vancouver as well as daily roundtrips between Baltimore/Washington-Montreal and Pittsburgh-Montreal, both served by 50-passenger aircraft. All those routes will operate year-round. Air Canada will also begin seasonal service on May 17 between Providence and Toronto.

American Airlines is also increasing its transborder service to Canada. It will boost its Phoenix-Edmonton schedule from one flight a day to two effective December 15 to April 2. Next spring, American will launch new daily year-round 737 service from its Chicago O’Hare hub to Vancouver starting May 4, and seasonal daily flights from O’Hare to Calgary June 7-September 4, with an American Eagle/Envoy Air E175. On February 15, American will increase frequencies between New York LaGuardia-Toronto from four a day to five, and on May 4 it will boost its Washington Reagan National-Toronto schedule from two flights a day a day to three. Also on May 4, the airline will lay on a third daily roundtrip between Philadelphia and Ottawa.

Ireland’s Aer Lingus, now a part of International Airlines Group along with British Airways and Iberia, will add a new U.S. West Coast gateway next year when it starts Dublin-Seattle service. The carrier plans a May 18 start for the new route, using a 265-passenger, two-class Airbus A330-200 to operate four flights a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday). Passengers flying back to Seattle will be able to pre-clear U.S. Customs at Dublin. Aer Lingus previously announced plans to start Dublin-Philadelphia service four days a week next March.

Faced with new and growing competition from British Airways/Iberia’s Level affiliate, Norwegian plans to increase capacitybetween the U.S. and Barcelona next year by switching to larger aircraft – specifically, from the current 291-passenger 787-8 to the 344-seat 787-9. The changeover will take place in late March, affecting Norwegian’s two weekly flights from Barcelona to Ft. Lauderdale, three flights a week to Los Angeles and Oakland, and four a week to Newark.

Another low-cost carrier – Iceland’s WOW – will also add more U.S. seats next year, increasing frequencies on its route between Newark Liberty International and Reykjavik from seven flights a week to 13, effective May 29 through September 16. That’s in addition to the airline’s new daily flights out of New York JFK starting April 28.

Panama’s Copa Airlines plans to increase its West Coast capacity this winter. The airline will boost its Panama City-San Francisco schedule from twice-daily service to 18 flights a week starting March 1, and its Panama City-Los Angeles frequencies from three a day to 25 a week effective January 2.

When Lufthansa announced its recently-launched New York JFK-Berlin service (taking over for the defunct Airberlin), it said the route would be turned over next summer to Eurowings, its fast-growing, leisure-oriented subsidiary. Now it has even more transatlantic plans for Eurowings. The carrier will start a new route between JFK and Dusseldorf starting April 28, using a Brussels Airlines A340-300 to operate six flights a week. Lufthansa said Eurowings will also begin Dusseldorf-Miami service three times a week as of May 4, and Dusseldorf-Ft. Myers flights three times a week starting May 3.

Thomas Cook Airlines has launched new service between New York JFK and Manchester, operating three flights a week with an Airbus A330 and fares starting as low as $209 one-way – including a checked bag and in-flight meals. And JetBlue will kick off its fourth Caribbean route from Newark next spring, beginning daily service to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on May 3.

Air France will start 777 flights to Seattle next year. (Image: Air France)

In international route developments, Air France adds a new West Coast gateway; China Airlines will fly to an unlikely California airport; Aer Lingus adds a new transatlantic route in 2018; Singapore’s Scoot plans its first U.S. route; Finnair returns to Miami; and Seattle-Vancouver travelers could get downtown-to-downtown service.

Air France has scheduled a March 25 start for new U.S. service between Paris Charles de Gaulle and Seattle – a route where its joint venture partner Delta already offers daily year-round service. Air France said it will initially fly the route three days a week, increasing to five days a week from June 19 through September 2, using a 777-200ER with business class, premium economy and regular economy seating. The new flight will depart SEA at 4:30 p.m.

Taiwan-based China Airlines already flies from Taipei to Los Angeles and San Francisco, and now it plans to add a third California gateway starting in the spring of next year. Could it be San Diego? San Jose? Nope. It’s Ontario International Airport, 35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles – an airport that currently has just 62 flights a day to 15 cities. China Airlines reportedly expects to carry more than 80,000 passengers a year in each direction on the new route, which it will initially serve four days a week with a two-class, 358-seat 777-300ER.

Aer Lingus, now a sister company of British Airways as part of International Airlines Group, has announced plans to add new U.S. service on March 25 when it will start flying between Dublin and Philadelphia. The Irish carrier will use a 757 to fly the new route four days a week – a route already operated by BA’s joint venture partner American. Aer Lingus’ summer U.S. schedule for 2018 also includes two flights a day from New York JFK, Boston and Chicago; daily service from San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and Hartford; four flights a week from Orlando; and three a week from Miami.

Scoot, the low-cost affiliate of Singapore Airlines, has opened the books for reservations on its first U.S. route. The carrier plans a December 19 launch of flights from Singapore to Honolulu via a stop in Osaka, Japan. Scoot will use a 787-8 on the route, which it will fly four days a week. The Scoot 787-8 has 335 seats in a two-class configuration, although some economy seats are offered with extra legroom for an additional fee.

Finnair this week resumed seasonal service to Miami International, operating three flights a week to Helsinki with an Airbus A330. The flights will continue through March.

Business commuters who travel between Seattle and Vancouver could soon have a new flight option that avoids the two cities’ big airports. The Seattle Times reports that a pair of small regional carriers – Kenmore Air and British Columbia’s Harbour Air – are planning to introduce new seaplane service, possibly by the end of this year. The Seattle departures would be from Lake Union, convenient to Amazon headquarters. Harbour Air operates out of downtown Vancouver’s Harbour Flight Center.

More flights, more availability for award flights on Korean Air (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

In international route news, Korean Air plans to boost West Coast frequencies next year, Norwegian’s Las Vegas routes will be cut back to a seasonal basis; Aer Lingus adds a new U.S. gateway; Air Canada adds a pair of summer Europe routes from Vancouver; Fiji Airways will boost San Francisco service; two German airlines add new U.S. routes next summer; and ANA will start direct service to Mexico City.

Korean Air’s 2017 schedule plans include more flights to the West Coast, according to Routesonline.com. On March 26, Korean’s San Francisco-Seoul Incheon schedule is tentatively set to increase from seven flights a week to 12, then grow to 13 in June and 14 in September. The carrier will utilize a mix of B747-8 and B777s on the route. KAL likely added more capacity since Singapore Air moved its daily SFO-Seoul nonstop to LA to make way for its nonstop SFO-SIN service. From June through August, the airline will increase Los Angeles-Seoul Incheon frequencies from 14 to 19 flights a week. And Korean’s Seattle schedule shows daily flights during May, September and October, up from five a week for the same months this year. (FYI, Korean Air is a partner in Chase Ultimate Rewards- many readers love to unload their points to fly KAL in first or business class because space is frequently available. Get a new card, earn the bonus, and redeem away!)

Here’s how TravelSkills reader JS flew KAL in first class by transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards to Korean Air SkyPass. He told us: “As you probably know it’s incredibly easy to find first class space on Korean since so few people in the U.S. either have those miles or know about the transfer process from Chase. In addition, even though Delta and Korean are both members of SkyTeam, Delta members cannot redeem their miles for first class on other SkyTeam carriers.”

Norwegian Air Shuttle has been growing at Las Vegas, but it has now decided that its four routes to Europe will operate seasonally instead of year-round. Why? Because it discovered this year that sometimes Las Vegas is just too hot in the summer for its planes to take off, so they’ve had to sit on the ground until temperatures dropped. The cutoff temperature for the airline’s 291-seat Dreamliners is 104 degrees, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, so for 2017 the airline will suspend its service to London, Oslo, Stockholm and Copenhagen from late March until November. The publication said the airline is studying the possibility of rescheduling summer departure times to early morning or late in the day for 2018.

Aer Lingus is adding a Miami route next year. (Image: Aer Lingus)

Ireland’s Aer Lingus will add Miami as its newest U.S. gateway next year. The airline set a September 1 start for the new service, operating three times a week between Miami and Dublin with a 266-seat A330-200. Aer Lingus also said it will boost its Los Angeles schedule from the current four flights a week to daily departures from May 26 through the end of August; increase Chicago O’Hare service from 12 flights a week to twice-daily departures beginning May 26; and add a fourth weekly flight from Orlando effective March 14.

Air Canada will give travelers new options to Europe from Vancouver next summer. The carrier said it will start daily flights from Vancouver to Frankfurt on June 1, using a 787-8 with business class, premium economy and regular economy seating; and three flights a week from Vancouver to London Gatwick with an Air Canada Rouge 767-300ER with premium and regular economy seating.

Fiji Airways is boosting capacity to San Francisco in 2017. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Fiji Airways must be doing well with its San Francisco-Nadi, Fiji route, because it plans to increase capacity next summer. Instead of operating two flights a week for eight weeks, it will keep them going from June 1 through late October, and will add a third weekly frequency from June 19 to August 8 – and it will upgrade the aircraft it uses from an A330-200 to a -300.

New travel options to Germany next year include service from Seattle to Cologne and from Pittsburgh to Frankfurt.The Seattle route be flown by Lufthansa Group subsidiary Eurowings, with three A330-200 flights a week operating seasonally from July 11 through October. And the Pittsburgh-Frankfurt route will be flown by Condor Airlines, with two 767 flights a week from June 23 through September.

Want to get from Mexico to Japan without flying through the U.S. or Canada? Japan’s All Nippon Airways announced plans to begin the first non-stop service between the countries, with daily flights from Tokyo Narita to Mexico City beginning February 15. It will be ANA’s longest non-stop flight, and will use a 787-8 Dreamliner with business class and economy seating.

In international route news, Finnair will add San Francisco service next year; Delta expands sales of Comfort+ seats and Caribbean code-sharing, Virgin Australia will revive Melbourne service, Austrian Airlines is coming to Los Angeles, American suspends some Europe flights, SAS comes to Miami Aer Lingus adds a pair of gateways, United code-shares to India, and a Mexican carrier adds three U.S. routes.

Finland’s national carrier is coming to San Francisco next year. Finnair said it will operate seasonal SFO-Helsinki flights three times a week (Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays) from June 1 through September 30, using an A330. The new service will be a part of the transatlantic joint venture that includes Oneworld partners American, British Airways and Iberia as well as Finnair. “Thanks to Helsinki’s geographical location, Finnair’s new northern route to San Francisco will offer competitive travel times for customers from Scandinavia, the Baltics, Russia as well as from many European cities,” a spokesperson said. Finnair currently flies to New York, Chicago and Miami. At first glance, SFO-HEL roundtrip economy fares appear to be in the steep $1,900 range, but we’ll be on the lookout for lower introductory promo fares.

Delta said it has expanded the sale of its extra-legroom Comfort+ economy seating to a number of international routes, including: from the U.S. and Canada to Latin America and the Caribbean (except Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Chile); between North America and Asia-Pacific destinations (except China and Hong Kong); and on flights within the Asia-Pacific region (except China and Hong Kong). Last fall, Delta created a new fare category for Comfort+ and started selling it for travel within the U.S. and Canada. Meanwhile, Delta has expanded its agreement with Caribbean-based Seaborne Airlines to allow single-ticketing for connections through San Juan to St. Croix, Anguilla and Beef Island in the British Virgin Islands; and between St. Thomas and St. Croix.

The new business class on a Virgin Australia 777-300. (Image: Virgin Australia)

Virgin Australia has set a launch date of April 4, 2017 for a revival of service between Los Angeles and Melbourne. On the same date, it will trim LAX-Brisbane schedules from seven flights a week to six. The carrier also flies from LAX to Sydney. Its transpacific operations are part of a joint venture with Delta. Virgin said it will fly the LAX-Melbourne route five times a week (no westbound departures on Wednesdays or Mondays), using a 777-300ER.

Los Angeles will get another new international route beginning April 10, 2017, when Austrian Airlines plans to launch up to six flights a week between LAX and Vienna, using a 777. The 12 and a half hour seasonal flight will depart Los Angeles daily except Sundays at 3:05 p.m. Austrian, a part of the Lufthansa Group, also flies to New York JFK, Newark, Chicago, Washington D.C. and Miami.

American Airlines plans to cut back its international schedule out of Philadelphia. After ending its Philadelphia-Brussels service last month, American now says its seasonal PHL-Zurich service, which ends September 30, will not be revived next year; and its year-round PHL-Frankfurt flights will now operate seasonally, with no service from October 30 through April 5. AA also plans to drop its twice-weekly Philadelphia-Halifax flights in January. Elsewhere, American will suspend Chicago O’Hare-Paris CDG flights from December 5 through December 13, and from January 10 to March 25; and its New York JFK-Manchester flights from January 9 through March 29.

On September 28, SAS is introducing new non-stop service from Miami International to Copenhagen and Oslo. The carrier will offer flights to Copenhagen on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays; and to Oslo on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Aer Lingus is adding two U.S. routes this month. (Image: Aer Lingus)

Aer Lingus this month introduced new daily year-round service between Dublin and Newark Liberty International, using an Airbus A330. And on September 28, the Irish carrier is slated to inaugurate a new route linking Hartford, Connecticut with Dublin, operating four days a week (Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Friday) with a 757.

United flyers will get a new option for travel from the West Coast to India next month. United is putting its code onto Star Alliance partner Air Canada’s new Vancouver-Delhi seasonal service, which will operate from October 20 through April 6.

Mexican low-cost carrier Interjet will expand its transborder network this fall with a trio of new U.S. routes. On October 20, it will inaugurate twice-daily service between Mexico City and Los Angeles, followed on November 10 by a daily Las Vegas-Mexico City roundtrip and on November 17 by two daily Mexico City-Chicago O’Hare flights. The airline will use Airbus A320s for all the flights.

Earlier this year, I decided to take a trip in April to visit a friend in Edinburgh, Scotland. I was working with a minimal budget and was excited to discover that one of the cheapest economy fares ($1,199 RT) from San Francisco to Edinburgh was offered by Aer Lingus. I had never flown with Aer Lingus before and jumped on the opportunity since I’d heard so many positive things about their service. When I told Chris about my upcoming trip, he mentioned that several readers enjoyed the Trip Report he wrote on Aer Lingus’ new business class, but we didn’t have a trip report on the economy experience. So, I decided to document my first trip on that big green plane!

As I boarded the Aer Lingus A330-200 at SFO, I was politely greeted by all of the crew members and directed to my seat above the wing. When I got there, a pillow, warm fleece blanket, and complimentary earbuds were waiting to help me enjoy the in-flight entertainment.

Once settled into my window seat I found the 32” pitch to be more than enough for my 5’4” self and I was comfortable even with a larger person seated next to me. Before takeoff, I flipped through Aer Lingus’ magazine Cara (“Friend” in Irish Gaelic). I usually get through half of the in-flight magazine before putting it away to watch takeoff, but on my flight to Dublin I only had the chance to flip through some photos as we happily departed almost 10 minutes early. I’m impressed that Aer Lingus operated with such timeliness during my entire journey with them. On my flight home, we landed at SFO 20 minutes ahead of schedule.

Perfect pasta and a really nice salad on the dinner flight over the pond. (Photo: Kim Grimes)

Dinner was served about two hours into the flight with a choice of beef stew or creamy spinach pasta. I don’t eat beef so I went with the pasta, but my seatmate got the stew and enjoyed it. I don’t usually expect much from pasta on airplanes, but the sauce in the dish was delicious and the pasta was cooked perfectly.

The salad is a nice low-carb option (Photo: Kim Grimes)

My meal also came with a light salad of lettuce, cucumber, tomato, and a bit of feta which I enjoyed after my pasta. It was fresh, tasty, and delivered an extra bit of hydration that I really needed. The pasta had enough carbs for me so I didn’t eat the dinner roll, but I did save room for the dessert of berries and light whipped cream.

Plenty of good films, TV shows and music to keep me occupied (Photo: Kim Grimes)

I tried to doze off after dinner, but I spent most of the flight exploring the entertainment system. I was thoroughly distracted with the selection of over 50 films, a variety of TV shows, and an extensive list of music albums, podcasts, and radio stations to indulge in. Wi-fi was also available on the flight at the price of $9.95 for an hour or $18.95 for a full flight pass but the entertainment system was enough to keep me from boredom. When my eyes got too tired to watch any more movies, I browsed the music selection and made a playlist perfect for sleeping. I don’t think I actually slept much, but meditating to the RnB and soft rock sounds for a few hours was nice relaxation.

Good morning! Breakfast is served– with tea (Photo: Kim Grimes)

The cabin crew served morning snack boxes and warm beverages about an hour before we landed in Dublin. Inside was a ham and cheese croissant and a cup of strawberry yogurt. I wasn’t in the mood for yogurt, but I enjoyed the croissant. It was simple, yet comforting and I really appreciated the warm food and tea in the morning.

I’ve never been a fan of propellor planes, but this one changed my mind (Photo: Kim Grimes)

I was not at all excited about taking a propeller plane to connect from Dublin to Edinburgh. I’ve had an aversion to propeller planes since I rode on one as a kid flying over Alabama. It was like a loud, tumultuous rollercoaster that my parents couldn’t wait to get off of. My journey with Aer Lingus was nothing like that. The flight was operated by Irish regional airline Stobart Air (formerly Aer Arann) and had two Aer Lingus crew members on board. These crew members were exceptionally friendly and knowledgeable, reassuring some other nervous passengers and myself that we’d have a safe ride on the ATR 72-600.

I was particularly impressed with how one crew member successfully comforted a terrified, screaming child during the flight by assuring her that the noise and extra turbulence was just part of what makes propeller plane flight special. The entire experience was so stress-free that on the way back I felt no anxiety hopping on the propeller plane, even with someone obnoxiously joking that our plane was probably going down.

(Photo: Aer Lingus)

On my return flight from Dublin to SFO, I got a special treat for my in-flight meal. Before my trip, Chris told me about some upgraded meals that Aer Lingus offers to economy passengers and asked me to try out the service (which he generously paid for 🙂 ). These meals are part of Aer Lingus’ Bia Pre-Order service and have been created by their executive chef and Irish chef Clodagh McKenna.

Passengers who would like to enjoy these meals must pre-order them online at least 24 hours before the flight. Meal options include Roast Chicken with a Twist ($25), Melt-in-the-mouth Salmon ($25), and Succulent Steak ($28). The chicken and steak options are similar to entrees served in business class, but I was really curious about the salmon and decided to try that.

Ordering my meal was as simple as choosing my seat through the “Manage Booking” section of Aer Lingus’ website. My credit card was charged immediately after ordering and a salmon meal voucher was promptly e-mailed to me. The e-mail provided instructions to print the voucher in full and bring it on board with me to submit to the cabin crew. It didn’t specify when I should submit the voucher, so I asked a crew member at the door as I boarded and she took it right away.

I got settled in my seat and was really absorbed in watching a television show on my laptop when a crew member came by with some food on trays and asked if I ordered a special meal. I was really caught off-guard since the meal service hadn’t been announced yet, but he handed me a nice tray with my salmon meal on it and offered me some wine.

There was nobody sitting next to me on this flight, but I wonder how people would have reacted to my special meal service if the plane was more crowded. I was prepared for a few envious glares and questions about why I got such a fancy meal when others did not. As the distinct scent of salmon floated around my section, I looked around to see if anyone was really noticing. The cabin was nearly empty and the few passengers near me were too caught up in their own experience to show much interest in what I was eating so I was able to enjoy my meal without judgement.

The mouthwatering salmon was perfectly prepared- but I wondered what other passengers were thinking! (Photo: Kim Grimes)

I love salmon, but I wasn’t sure what to expect from salmon on an airplane. As I took my first bite, any negative preconceived notions I had about “airplane salmon” went away. It was delicious and the texture was perfect – not too dry or rubbery. It wasn’t extravagant with flavors, but it was well done and exceeded my expectations. The potatoes that accompanied the salmon were less impressive. They were very bland, but also too oily for my taste. I ate all of them, but they were definitely my least favorite part of the entire meal.

My favorite part of the meal (Photo: Kim Grimes)

Surprisingly, the real highlight of the meal for me was the salad of aubergine, roasted pepper, and sunblushed tomato with a harissa and lemon dressing. The dressing had the perfect kick and reminded me of homemade cocktail sauce.

Yogurt with fruity chunks! (Photo: Kim Grimes)

For dessert, I had a sweet mango and passionfruit yogurt (instead of the listed raspberry pannacotta) with real chunks of fruit in it. Delicious! Plus, a lovely chocolate truffle by Irish chocolatier Lily O’Brien. I couldn’t help but eat them both!

I was so full from my meal that I could barely even look at the farewell chocolate bar given to me by the crew right before landing at SFO. My Bia pre-ordered meal was a great way to have a bit of extra fun on my flight home and add a little luxury to my first trip with Aer Lingus.

There are lots of developments in international services this week. United started a new China route; Air Canada kicks off a San Jose route; European carriers begin new transatlantic service from LAX, Oakland, Salt Lake City and Denver; a Chinese carrier sets the date for new Seattle flights; Chicago gets a new transpacific option; and a South American carrier comes to Washington D.C.

United Airlines on Sunday started its newest transpacific route, linking its San Francisco hub with Xi’an, a city of 8 million in central China; it’s the only non-stop service between the U.S. and Xi’an. United will fly the seasonal route three times a week – through October 27 – using a 787 Dreamliner. Westbound flights depart SFO on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays at 1:25 p.m. The westbound flight takes a little over 13 hours.

Low-cost European carrier Norwegian is set to begin its previously announced Oakland-London Gatwick service on May 12. The carrier will use a 787-8 with economy and premium seating, offering non-stop service three times a week. Norwegian’s initial fares on the route started at $299. On May 10, Norwegian increases Los Angeles-London Gatwick service from three flights a week to four.

On May 9, Air Canada kicks off new non-stop service out of Mineta San Jose International Airport to Vancouver. The Canadian carrier will offer two daily roundtrips using CRJ705 regional jets with 10 seats in business class and 65 in coach. Speaking of Vancouver, Air Canada recently announced it will begin a new ultra-long-haul route there on October 20 with non-stop service to Delhi, India operating four days a week with a 787-9 Dreamliner.

This is the Captain Kirk seat– one of the two best seats in Aer Lingus biz class (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Aer Lingus last week kicked off Los Angeles-Dublin flights — the first of three new U.S. routes it will be adding this summer. The year-round service from LAX operates four times a week, using an Airbus A330-200. Later this year, the Irish carrier plans to begin new daily flights from Newark starting September 1, and new service from Hartford in late September.

Instead of resuming seasonal service this year between Amsterdam and Dallas/Ft. Worth, KLM opted instead to go with Salt Lake City, where it started flying last week. Its transatlantic joint venture partner Delta also serves the SLC-Amsterdam route. KLM started off with twice-weekly flights Thursdays and Saturdays, and will add a Monday departure on July 4. It’s using an A330-200 on the route. KLM also plans to add seasonal Miami-Amsterdam service in late October.

May 11 is the launch date for new Lufthansa service between Denver and its Munich hub; the German carrier already flies from Denver to Frankfurt. The new Munich service will operate five days a week (Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday), using an Airbus A330—300 with four classes of service, including premium economy, for the 10-1/2 hour flight. The eastbound flight leaves Denver at 4:05 p.m. Easy connections to the new route are available through Lufthansa’s Star Alliance partner United, which has a hub at DEN.

China’s Xiamen Airlines, a member of Delta’s SkyTeam global alliance, has started taking bookings for its new Seattle-Xiamen route, which will begin September 26. The new service will operate three days a week via an intermediate stop in Shenzen, using a 787-8.

Taiwan’s EVA Air plans to launch new service on November 2 from Taipei to Chicago O’Hare, flying the route four times a week with a 777. EVA also will increase its Taipei-New York JFK schedule effective October 3 from the current 10 flights a week to twice-daily service.

A LATAM 767-300 with the carrier’s new livery. (Image: LATAM)

South America’s LATAM Airlines last week started its newest U.S. route, linking Washington Dulles with Lima, Peru – the only non-stop service between the two capital cities. LATAM will initially offer three flights a week, using a 767-300 with business class and regular economy seating.

Norwegian reportedly plans new Oakland-London service with a 787. (Image: Creative Commons)

In international route news, Bay Area travelers may see a new low-cost option to London in the spring; another U.S. carrier pulls out of the Dubai market; British Airways and its new sister company Aer Lingus are sharing codes all over the place; China Eastern will boost frequencies to a Midwest gateway; and Southwest eyes new international service from LAX.

Although the airline hasn’t announced or confirmed it yet, the website Airlineroute.net reports that European low-cost carrier Norwegian has filed a proposed schedule to fly between Oakland and London Gatwick. Based on data from the OAG Schedules Analyzer, Airlineroute.net said Norwegian plans to use a 787-8 to fly the route three days a week (Monday, Thursday and Sunday) starting May 12. Norwegian already has service from Oakland to Stockholm and Olso twice a week; it currently shows one-way fares to Stockholm in January for as little as $169 (plus ancillary fees).

The proposed Norwegian service, infrequent though it is, would give Bay Area travelers to the U.K. another option instead of flying out of San Francisco International — in addition to the new British Airways service from Mineta San Jose International to Heathrow that starts May 4 with a 787-9. In other news, Norwegian has pushed up the start of new Boston-London Gatwick 787 flights — slated for five days a week — from May to March 27.

Remember how Delta blamed government-subsidized competition and excess capacity from the big Mideast carriers for its decision to discontinue Atlanta-Dubai service this coming February? Now United is following suit, saying it will stop flying from Washington Dulles to Dubai after January 25. United blamed the entry of “subsidized carriers such as Emirates Airline and Etihad Airways into the Washington D.C. market,” but it also cited a decision by the U.S. government to shift its contract for Washington-Dubai flights to JetBlue, which has a code-share partnership with Emirates. (Earlier, United said it would discontinue its service from Dulles to Kuwait and Bahrain after January 13.)

Now that British Airways and Ireland’s Aer Lingus are sister companies under the umbrella of parent IAG, they have embarked on a big code-share expansion for their U.S. routes. According to Airlineroute,net, Aer Lingus’ code is going onto BA’s London Heathrow routes from 19 U.S. gateways, as well as its Gatwick service from New York JFK, Las Vegas and Orlando; and BA’s code goes onto Aer Lingus flights to Dublin from San Francisco, Orlando, Washington Dulles, JFK, Newark, Hartford and Boston, as well as Shannon flights from JFK and Boston.

China Eastern, a member of Delta’s SkyTeam alliance, plans to boost service on its Shanghai Pudong-Chicago O’Hare route — which starts March 18 — from three flights a week to daily. The airline will use a 777-300ER on the route.

Southwest Airlines plans to add a new international route from Los Angeles International in April, subject to government approval. The carrier said it will offer daily flights from LAX’s Terminal 2 to Liberia/Guanacaste, Costa Rica, the gateway to that country’s coastal resort area.

Big switcheroo: United moves all p.s. flights to Newark this weekend. Here’s why we think it makes sense. But not everyone agrees with us 🙂 See comments. Funny that United is not making any noise about this move at all…we’d expect fanfare, but nope. Thoughts?

Can you guess where I grabbed this snap of a lovely airport day bed? Stay tuned!

A few newsy nuggets from other sources that we missed on TravelSkills this week:

This is one of the two best seats in Aer Lingus biz class (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

In international route news, Aer Lingus will fly to three more U.S. cities in 2016, including one that has no transatlantic flights now; a new JetBlue code-share partnership will give its customers access to several points in the Caribbean; American will drop a transatlantic route next year; United adds a vacation island next month and plans lots of aircraft changes next year; and Delta unveils its European summer seasonal plans for 2016.

Irish carrier Aer Lingus said this week it will add three new U.S. routes next year. In May, it will revive Dublin-Los Angeles service with five A330 flights a week; in early September, it will add daily year-round Dublin-Newark flights, also with an A330; and in late September it will begin daily 757-200 non-stops to an airport that currently has no transatlantic flights: Bradley International Airport near Hartford, Connecticut. The airline calls it “the single largest expansion of our transatlantic network since we commenced transatlantic flying in 1958.” (What’s service like? See our trip report on Aer Lingus business class.)

On November 20, United Airlines plans to resume winter service to Bermuda from its Newark hub, operating flights on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. In other news, United plans a lot of equipment changes on its international routes next year, starting in March. You can see a roundup of the changes here.

Looking to cash in some Delta SkyMiles for a European vacation next summer? Delta recently issued a listing of all the summer seasonal routes to Europe that it plans for 2016, along with their stating dates. Plan ahead and book early– especially if you hope to redeem SkyMiles for these trips.

Flying over San Juan’s Condado neighborhood (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

JetBlue said it has started selling tickets via a new code-share agreement with Seaborne Airlines that will give its customers access to more more than a dozen Caribbean destinations via connections at San Juan’s Munoz Marin International, where JetBlue is the largest carrier. In the first phase, JetBlue’s B6 code goes onto Seaborne flights from San Juan to Anguilla, Tortola, Dominica, Nevis, St. Kitts, St. Maarten, St. Thomas and St. Croix. After government approvals are obtained, the JetBlue code will appear on Seaborne’s routes from San Juan to Antigua, Martinique, Guadeloupe, and the Dominican Republic airports at La Romana, Punta Cana and Santo Domingo. Seaborne has a fleet of eight 34-seat Saab340B turboprops and two 15-passenger Twin Otter seaplanes.

According to airlineroute.net, which tracks airline schedule changes, American Airlines will discontinue its summer seasonal service between Miami and Frankfurt next year, which it had planned to operate from May 12 through September 1. AA will still fly to Frankfurt from Philadelphia, Charlotte and Dallas/Ft. Worth.

The sale of Aer Lingus could shake up the transatlantic travel market. (Image: Aer Lingus)

Ireland’s parliament has voted to approve the sale of the government’s 25 percent stake in Aer Lingus to British Airways parent International Airlines Group (IAG), removing the main obstacle to the sale and setting the stage for a shakeup of transatlantic travel.

But at least it sounds like those big green planes will be around for a while.

Although Aer Lingus is not a member of any of the three big global airline alliances, it does have a code-sharing partnership with United, and MileagePlus members can earn miles for travel on many Aer Lingus flights. The Irish carrier also has a close partnership with JetBlue that permits single-ticketing on interline connections via New York and Boston.

But the acquisition of Aer Lingus by IAG would likely mean that the Irish airline would join up with the Oneworld alliance — which includes British Airways, American, Iberia and others — and could even lead to the inclusion of Aer Lingus in the AA/BA transatlantic joint venture.

Aer Lingus currently flies from Ireland to New York, Boston, Chicago, Orlando, San Francisco and Toronto.

Irish media reports say that the acquisition is likely to mean four new transatlantic routes for Aer Lingus, although they don’t identify them. IAG has also reportedly agreed to preserve the Aer Lingus brand; to guarantee Aer Lingus’ slots at London Heathrow for five years; and to preserve its routes between Heathrow and Dublin, Cork and Shannon for seven years.

Besides British Airways, the International Airlines Group’s other subsidiaries include Iberia and Spanish low-cost carrier Vueling. To finish the Aer Lingus acquisition, IAG will still have to negotiate the purchase of Ryanair’s 29 percent stake in the airline, but that low-cost carrier — which has itself unsuccessfully bid for the Irish carrier — is said to be willing to divest.

An interesting historical note: Willie Walsh, the chief executive of IAG and former head of British Airways, started his career at Aer Lingus as a pilot and later became its CEO.

Back in March, Aer Lingus invited TravelSkills along for the maiden voyage of a big green A330 outfitted with its new lie-flat business class seat and enhanced service. In our first Trip Report you find all you need to know about the hard product— what the best seats are, inflight entertainment, sleep quality, etc.

But today, let’s take a look at the food service, which I must say was some of the tastiest, most satisfying and beautifully presented business class fare I’ve had in a while. Highlights include big healthy portions, a nice express option for those who want to sleep, and some off-the-menu surprises, like the warm samosas pictured above.

There’s very little negative news to report here… about the only thing that went wrong with the meal service was that hot towels came after appetizers were served… in both directions. Seemed odd to touch food with airport- dirty hands… but anyway…

Let’s take a look! First, the SFO-DUB leg (about 9.5 hours) was on a Friday evening (departing at 6:30 pm) and the mood was festive because many of us were flying to Dublin for St Patrick’s Day weekend. So the pre-flight champagne flowed freely.

Preflight champers on Aer Lingus (Chris McGinnis)

But I wanted to get some sleep since I had meetings planned as soon as we landed, so I opted for an orange juice and the express meal, which was prompt, beautiful and delicious. That meant I got several hours of good sleep on the lie-flat seat.

Service was excellent with some nice touches that I noticed. For example, before placing a white linen table cloth on the tray table, busy flight attendants would ask, “May I dress your table?” or before pouring wine, “Would you like to try the Valpolicella before I pour?” This was all the more impressive because there were only two flight attendants hustling to serve the sold out business class section (23 seats). What was even nicer is the kind way that they worked together, saying things to fellow attendants like, “Can you fetch another bottle of fizzy water from the galley, darling.”

Dear Chris – I personally would like to thank you for writing your report – I would like the media to know that I only asked for an apology and my medical bills to be covered – after 2 years – no one did so – They wanted to shove it under the rug – Other reports mention that I sued due to lack of sex with my husband – these people are very sick who twist things around – you did not do so and I appreciate you as a wonderful human – The media can be very cruel – My insurance company says that workers comp should pay my medical bills – workers comp refuses to pay – I have had to pay all of my medical bills out of pocket for almost 3 years – The real reason for my personal lawsuit was due to no apology and not covering my medical bills – I want to save and fight for others who get abused by the system – People blog such horrible things – These people have no clue what we are going through and have no respect for other humans – I strongly believe in Karma – Thank you for telling the real story without trying to hurt the ones that hurt most – I admire and appreciate you – Tina Brock.

Aer Lingus has added new service from Dublin to Washington Dulles, while KLM and Air France, joint venture partners with Delta, have laid on seasonal summer service from Dallas/Ft. Worth and Minneapolis/St. Paul respectively. Meanwhile, Air China added more frequencies between Los Angeles and Beijing.

Aer Lingus last week kicked off a new route linking Dublin with Washington Dulles, operating four times a week with an A330-200. The carrier’s summer schedule also includes an increase in Dublin-San Francisco service to daily from five times a week; the addition of a third daily Dublin-New York flight from June through August; and a boost in Dublin-Orlando frequencies from three to four a week starting this month. (See Chris’s recent report on Aer Lingus’ new business class service.)

Air France-KLM this week added a pair of summer routes. From now through September 27, Air France will offer up to seven flights a week between Minneapolis-St. Paul and Paris CDG with an A340-300 (partner Delta also has daily service on the route). And from May 8 to October 24, KLM will operate up to five flights a week between DFW and Amsterdam with an A330-200.

Last month Aer Lingus deployed its new business class product on the lucrative San Francisco-Dublin route– the longest flight in its system at around 10-11 hours. While the airline has yet to confirm this, I’ve heard that New York-Dublin is the next route to get the new seats. There are currently four updated aircraft in operation. There should be a total of eight flying by May 13. A spokesperson told TravelSkills: “San Francisco is the only route at the moment that has the new business class exclusively. The other aircraft are rotated amongst the gateways, so it varies.”

Aer Lingus left SFO-DUB during the dark days of the 2009 recession, but came back last spring at the urging of the many Bay Area businesses that run European operations out of Dublin– such as Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, and Salesforce. The companies were well represented by all the logos I saw on briefcases and backpacks in the business class section.

Wi-fi is free for business class passengers on Aer Lingus- just enter the code on the back of this card (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

There are three things that stand out as remarkable on these A330 flights: First is the fast, easy and FREE wi-fi system. I was amazed at how easy and reliable this system was– if any of you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you will have already seen many of the photos below because I was able to upload large files with relative ease. I could even watch short videos from up there.

Second, I was very impressed with the inflight dining. A diverse menu was beautifully presented in hefty portions and service was spot on. We’ll present that in a future post. Stay tuned.

Third, the new business class section is one of the most unusual staggered layouts I’ve seen, which means there are both winners and losers when it comes to seats. Keep reading and I’ll show you how to choose a winner.

I was a guest of Aer Lingus on this flight but had I paid, business class would have run from a low of about $4,500 to a high of around $7,000 round trip depending on time of year and advance purchase. The lowest economy class round trips run at around $1,000.

As we boarded, flight attendants greeted us with an enthusiastic “Welcome to our new business class!” It was clear that they are as excited about the new product as passengers are– later in the flight, one told me that this was her first time in the new cabin.

My first impression of the cabin is that it looks a lot like JetBlue’s new Mint class cabin— and that should be no surprise because both use seats made by Thompson Aero in Ireland. One of the first things I noticed were a couple of those lone “Captain Kirk” seats that everyone covets in JetBlue Mint class.

Let’s look at the unusual layout of the A330-200 business class cabin. (A330-300 includes a 1A.)

|2A|DG H||K

3A|DG|| K |

|4A|DG H||K

5A|DG|| K |

|6A|DG H||K

The | symbol represents a nice wide console for storage and protection from aisle activity

Best:3K, 5K (These are the Captain Kirk seats)

Second best: 3A, 5A (Windows/centers with console on aisle side)

Best for companions 2HK, 4HK, 6HK (but less storage space)

Exposed to aisle, limited storage:2AG, 3D, 4AG, 5D, 6AG

This is the Captain Kirk seat 3K– one of the two best seats in biz class (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Captain Kirk seat 3K from the back (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Note the staggered layout of the A seats- some protected from aisle by console, some not (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Note how passenger is exposed to aisle without console in 4G (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

What else did I notice about the seat and cabin? First off, everyone was in a great mood— happy to be in the new biz class and thrilled to be headed to Dublin on the Friday before St Patrick’s Day.

Flight attendants passing champagne, water and juice in turquoise and green uniforms seem as excited and festive as passengers. (I’ll cover the inflight food & drink service in another post… stay tuned) Related:Inflight food report for Aer Lingus

Plenty of overhead bin space in business class (Chris McGinnis)

The new seat offers big (16″) and bright HD entertainment screens from Panasonic with touch screen controls. However, the choice of movies and TV shows was rather thin. Unusual: When taking off from San Francisco, the inflight moving map showed traffic on terrestrial freeways.

Freeway traffic monitored on inflight maps (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

For sleeping the seat was excellent and I dozed off for a few hours during the over night SFO>DUB flight.

The seat is nice and long, fitting my 6′ frame, but felt a little bit narrow. Plus, the space for legs and feet is tight once the seat is fully horizontal.

Best of all (and unlike other Euro carriers), flight attendants kept the cabin at a cool 68 degrees throughout the flight, which made it easy to bed down under that duvet without sweating through the night.

Tray tables are gigantic- large enough for a meal and a laptop, plus they swivel for easy access in and out of seat.

>Aer Lingus is not a member of the Star Alliance, Oneworld or SkyTeam. However, it is a United code share partner. But the SFO-DUB route is not a route where the carriers share a code. Nonetheless, due to the partnership, United Mileage Plus members can earn miles on Aer Lingus flights… but there are limits based on fare paid. Business class fares earn 150% of base miles flown, but economy fares earn just 50%-75% of base miles. Many of the lowest fares do not earn miles at all. You can redeem 60,000 MileagePlus miles for economy round trips on Aer Lingus, or 140,000 for business class. Details here.

>One of the best things about flying Aer Lingus is that passengers pre-clear US customs and immigration in Dublin before boarding the plane. That means when you land at SFO, it’s just like a domestic flight… you can hit the ground running as soon as you touch down. Aer Lingus currently flies into the international terminal (Boarding Area G).

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These freshly posted roundtrip mid-summer fares to France won’t last long (Image: Air France)

In four months, we’ll be in the midst of peak season for travel between the US and Europe. And that means now is the time to start looking and booking those fares.

Remember our post last month “Predicting Spring-Summer Airfares” in which the fare brains at the new FLYR fare prediction site explained that 120 days out is prime time for US-Europe flight bargains?

From what I’m seeing, it looks like that’s correct… This week European carriers are starting to trot out some “flash sale” type deals for mid-summer travel.

What’s likely of most concern to European carriers this year is that the strong dollar is going to keep Europeans on the continent this summer, so that’s why I think airlines like Air France, Aer Lingus and others are the first out of the gate with discounts aimed at driving up demand from this side of the pond.

Here’s some explanations around the fine print from Air France’s deal, released today:

Must buy tickets between today and March 24, 2015 (Most sale fares will be “flash” sales like this with small booking windows so you must act fast)

Travel dates vary but generally between May 16 and September 9, 2015. It’s unusual to see sale fares beyond about June 15 so this represents a very good deal if you can get it.

Minimum / Maximum stay: 10 days (weeds out business travelers who likely will not stay that long)

Refunds: tickets are non-refundable (as always with low fares)

Change fees: $300 plus fare difference- which could be substantial the closer we get to summer. (Hint: Don’t book this if there’s any possibility of change.)

When are the cheapest times to fly to Europe this summer? According to this PriceFinder chart from British Airways, which looks at flights between San Francisco and London, you are most likely to get deals in June and August– not July. Also, as you can tell from the chart, BA has not matched the Air France deal… yet. But the charts are still helpful.

Let’s take a look at fares from the East Coast, too. Here’s JFK-London Heathrow:

With all the noise Ireland’s Ryanair is making regarding ultra low-fare flights between the US and Europe, Aer Lingus has become very aggressive with pricing and has bargains similar to Air France’s on sale right now.

What’s interesting here is to see the difference in fares if you fly BEFORE or AFTER the peak season vs. when it’s fully underway (July 1 -Aug 22). Here’s what Aer Lingus has on offer this week.

And peak summer season sale fares available right now (they will not last!)

Another smart idea for snagging bargains across the pond this summer is to considering your first stop in Scandinavia– ultra low fare carrier Norwegian Air will continue to disrupt transatlantic fares this summer and force established carriers to discount. But beware– we’ve heard that you definitely “get what you pay for” when flying Norwegian.

Advice: A busy summer in Europe means that sale fares like these are going to come and go very quickly. Keep on eye on blogs like TravelSkills and sign up for fare alerts to find them.

Good luck– and remember, if you see a fare that feels right, BOOK IT because it will not be there if you wait.

(DUBLIN, IRELAND) St Patrick’s Day is different over here. It’s a national holiday, which means few people go to work and kids are out of school. And around 500,000 people show up for the parade.

St Patrick’s Day is much more of a fun family celebration than the green-beer-soaked antics surrounding most celebrations in the US. Mention green beer to an Irishman, and they grimace. They also grimace if you think you are being cute by spelling it St Patty’s. It’s St Paddy’s Day…because the Gaelic name of Patrick is Padraig.

Yes, I’m related. Way back. (Chris McGinnis)

I’m over here in Dublin for a four-day, multipurpose business trip. I’ve been meeting with execs at Tourism Ireland, Guinness and Aer Lingus (on which I flew from SFO in its new lie-flat business class seat). I took off a day for a side trip up to Belfast to check out my family roots. (Stay tuned for future posts.)

Today I was lucky enough to tag along with a contingent of “international media” and ride in a open-topped double-decker bus for the length of the parade route.

What a treat! Here are some glimpses of what I saw.

Parade day started with a gathering a Belvedere College– where James Joyce went to school. The room felt like the inside of a Wedgewood bowl! (Chris McGinnis)

St Paddy’s Parade is a combo of national pride and Carnaval-like visuals (Chris McGinnis)

An early look at the carriage for the parade’s grand marshall (Chris McGinnis)

Nearly all bands and drill teams in the parade are from the US- these women are from Texas (Chris McGinnis)

US high school bands compete for a handful of coveted spots in the parade- this guy is from Woodstock High near Atlanta. As a former band geek, I can attest that the bands chosen are good…really good. (Chris McGinnis)

A small cadre of new recruits wear a spring of shamrock on their hats. Others wore it as bouttonieres. (Chris McGinnis)

It feels like the entire country comes out for the pageant– packing sidewalks dangerously and hanging out windows- and having a lot of fun! (Chris McGinnis)

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Two Aer Lingus crew members checking out the new furniture (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Aer Lingus says that the return of non-stop flights between San Francisco and Dublin last year (after a five year hiatus) counts as the most successful launch in the Irish airline’s history.

It’s so pleased with the success of the route that it’s bumping up Airbus A330-200 frequencies to daily (from 4x per week) starting May 4.

The new business class seat in partial recline (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Plus, the San Francisco-Dublin route (the longest flight in its network) is the first to get Aer Lingus’ new lie-flat business class seat. At 6.5 feet long and nearly two feet wide, the Irish-made seats are some of the most spacious in the sky. In addition to all that sleeping space, Aer Lingus offers business class passengers free wi-fi, and a whole new menu.

The first planes with the newly outfitted cabin arrived at SFO this week.

Aer Lingus new business class seat in fully flat position (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

This week the airline threw a shindig at the Four Season’s hotel in Palo Alto to celebrate its success in the Bay Area and to show off the new business class seats. Why Palo Alto and not San Francisco? Because most of Aer Lingus’ business class passengers work and live in Silicon Valley.

Current fares for Spring roundtrips between SFO and Dublin are in the $1000 range for economy, and around $4500 in business. Aer Lingus does not offer first class.

Plenty of in seat storage space for laptops and like for techie travelers (Photo Chris McGinnis)

>Aer Lingus is not a member of the Star Alliance, Oneworld or SkyTeam. However, it is a United code share partner. But the SFO-DUB route is not a route where the carriers share a code. Nonetheless, due to the partnership, United Mileage Plus members can earn miles on Aer Lingus flights… but there are limits based on fare paid. Business class fares earn 150% of base miles flown, but economy fares earn just 50%-75% of base miles. Many of the lowest fares do not earn miles at all. You can redeem 60,000 MileagePlus miles for economy round trips on Aer Lingus, or 140,000 for business class. Details here.

>One of the best things about flying Aer Lingus is that passengers pre-clear US customs and immigration in Dublin before boarding the plane. That means when you land at SFO, it’s just like a domestic flight… you can hit the ground running as soon as you touch down. Aer Lingus currently flies into the international terminal (Boarding Area G).

Rendering of the repurposed 747 that will buzz Burning Man this August (Courtesy Lance Powell)

Developing: A potentially crippling winter storm is bearing down on the Northeast and airlines are starting to announce waivers.”We are facing most likely one of the largest snowstorms in the history of this city,” says NYC mayor Bill DiBlasio. By Sunday evening, airlines had pre-emptively canceled over 800 flights. The key thing to remember in these stormy cancellation situations is that you are entitled to a FULL REFUND if the airline cancels your flight and you decide it’s not worth taking the trip at all. Here’s what Delta’s waiver for Monday-Tuesday (Jan 26-27) states.

Aer Lingus + British Airways. British newspapers are reporting that British Airways parent IAG’s sweetened offer for Irish carrier Aer Lingus will be accepted and an announcement could come early this week. The Guardian reports: “Aer Lingus is the fourth busiest operator at London’s Heathrow behind British Airways, Lufthansa and Virgin Atlantic – with its expanding transatlantic routes a particular attraction to IAG. The Irish airline is well known to IAG boss Willie Walsh, who was chief executive of Aer Lingus between 2001 and 2005 before taking the helm at British Airways.”

Expedia buys Travelocity. Giant online travel agency Expedia, which has been providing services to erstwhile competitor Travelocity for the past couple of years, has now purchased that site from Sabre, the global distribution system, for $280 million. For years, Orbitz, Expedia, Travelocity and Priceline have dominated the web-based travel agency game. Could this be a sign of more consolidation to come in an increasingly crowded field of old and new competitors? Readers who have followed my career may recall that I was once a spokesperson and travel trends expert for Expedia. During that time, I would never have dreamed that our arch competitor would end up swallowed up by Expedia. Times sure change! Related:Mergers that make sense

This TravelSkills post 7 last-minute fare deals worth a look! went viral last week, resulting in nearly 500 new readers signing up for our daily or weekly emails! Welcome to TravelSkills, folks! We hope you enjoy the ride! –Chris

AIRPORTS

(Photo: Gotham Air)

New heli service in NYC. Gotham Air is joining the crowdsourced travel app game in New York City, allowing users to book helicopter flights to Newark or JFK airports. Its partner is Helicopter Flight Services, which does the actual flying from three Manhattan heliports. You can book your own departure time, and “as soon as four seats have been sold, the flight is confirmed. You are never on the hook for anything more than the price of your seat,” the company said. Scheduled flights will begin this spring, and the app should be available at the iTunes store early in February. First time users pay $99 to JFK or EWR; after the first ride, a one way fare is $199 – $219 dependent on departure time. Would you or your company spring for that?

Here’s a before and after look at Oakland Terminal 2’s security checkpoint. (Photo: Security Point Media)

Branded airport security. Oakland International is the US airport to get wrapped in SpringHill Suites branding. Terminal Two, home of Southwest Airlines at OAK, offers “a new, relaxing atmosphere before and after the checkpoint with modern furniture, wall art, calming lighting, soothing music, custom video content and displays showing current queue wait times. A post-screening recompose area outfitted with comfortable, soft seating welcomes travelers to gather their belongings in a more relaxed setting.” What do you think about big brands stepping up to improve the airport experience as a means to expose travelers to their brands? Please leave your comments below.

Rail link for LaGuardia? New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said last week that plans are in the works to build something New York-area travelers have wanted for decades: a rail link to LaGuardia Airport. The plan calls for a dedicated rail link from the airport to the existing Willets Point station a mile and a half away, next to Citi Field (home of the New York Mets). There, travelers could transfer to the Long Island Railroad or to the Number 7 subway line into Manhattan. Don’t hold your breath, though: The $450 million project won’t be finished until 2020.

Marriott renews MegaBonus. It’s time for the latest version of Marriott’s popular MegaBonus promotion. Marriott Rewards members who register online by March 25 can earn 2,500 points for every paid stay at the company’s 15 brands from February 1 through April 30, up to a maximum of 25,000 points.

The Westin Market Street has a new name. (Photo: AAA)

New name for Westin SF. Last Thursday night, guests went to bed at the Westin San Francisco and woke up at the Park Central hotel. The 36 story hotel at the corner of Third Street and Market Street (frequently confused with the Westin St Francis on Union Square) was previously the Argent Hotel and before that, the ANA. Hotel staff told TravelSkills that for the time being, the hotel is still a “Starwood affiliated” hotel, so you can still earn Starwood points for stays. But the hotel’s new owners could change that in coming months. In perennially packed San Francisco, a hotel does not have to do much to attract business travelers, but we found a few new deals (like 15% off) on its website.

CARS

National’s new Virtual Aisle. National Car Rental’s Emerald Club members who book a mid-sized car can bypass the counter and pick any vehicle in the rental lot’s Emerald Aisle at major airports. But we’ve been doing that for years. Here’s what’s new: Now National’s mobile app has a new “Virtual Aisle” featurefulfilling the same function for airports where National doesn’t have a dedicated Emerald Aisle. So as soon as you land, you use the app to pre-select a car from real-time inventory at 19 airport locations, including Tulsa, Richmond, Omaha, Knoxville, Norfolk, Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, Little Rock, Oklahoma City, Huntsville, Greensboro, Long Beach, Honolulu, Tucson, Reno, Baton Rouge, Phoenix (Mesa Gateway) and Savannah.

Look for this instead of the big furry stache (Photo: Lyft)

Lyft lifts the big ‘stache. What was ride-sharing service Lyft thinking when it decided to put a giant furry pink moustache on the front of all its cars? Apparently the powers that be at Lyft have come to their senses– sort of. They’ve decided to remove the Big Pink Fuzz, and instead will give their drivers a little banana-sized pink moustache that sits on the dashboard and glows softly at night. The move is part of a brand re-design brought on in part by Lyft’s new creative director Jesse McMillin, snatched from Virgin America last year. Read our 2011 profile of the very interesting and talented Jesse McMillin here.

At TravelSkills, we are big Uber fans, not only because of their generous $20 off your first ride referral program, but because the service has probably made the most consequential change in our travel habits than just about anything in recent years. But Uber’s reputation has taken a hit lately, so we’re wondering how many readers have considered or used similar services like Lyft, Sidecar, or even gone back to taxis with apps like FlyWheel. Please leave your comments below.

United improves front cabin meals. February 1 is United Airlines’ launch date for upgraded meal service in United First and United Business cabins on North American mainline flights of at least 800 miles. Transcontinental and Hawaii flights will get a new multi-course meal service with “heartier entrees,” United said, while flights of four hours to five hours and 19 minutes will offer three entree options instead of two. Meal flights of less than four hours will provide breakfast options like French toast souffle or steel-cut oatmeal with yogurt and fruit, and dinner choices like tandoori chicken instead of sandwiches. Also new on certain flights: Cookies baked fresh on board. Starting in March, United said, United Express premium-cabin travelers on flights of at least 800 miles will get fresh meals served on china instead of snack boxes; international long-haul economy flyers will see a new multi-course meal service; and new premium cabin menu choices will be introduced on p.s. transcontinental flights.

Best Photo! Thanks to TravelSkills reader Tony Gouge who responded to the request for plane photos in our recent 6 Tips for Better Plane Pics post– one of our most popular “how to” stories so far this year. Tony said that he used a technique called HDR on this (High Dynamic Range) to get the effect you see in the photo at the top.

Bidding for upgrades on Virgin America. Over the last few months, Virgin America has been quietly rolling out a new program inviting certain Elevate members to bid for upgrades to unsold Main Cabin Select and first class seats about a week before departure. We have learned that Virgin is experimenting with a service called Plusgrade that several other carriers have utilized. Here’s a quick video showing how it works on Air New Zealand. Sounds like a nice idea, but don’t sit around waiting for that email asking for a bid. A Virgin spokesperson told TravelSkills that the program is available in some markets for select flyers only and, “We are testing to see how travelers react to it first before instituting a broader program.” At present there is no way to get on the email list. Have you been asked to bid on an upgrade on Virgin America? Did you make a winning bid? Leave your comments below.

Double points on Virgin. Members of Virgin America’s Elevate loyalty program who register online will earn double points — or 10 per $1 spent — for travel from January 20 through March 31.

A big green Aer Lingus A330 at SFO (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Aer Lingus enhances SFO service. Bay area travelers will be the first to experience Aer Lingus’ new business class service starting January 28 on the carrier’s A330 non-stops to Dublin. The new cabins are coming this year to all of Aer Lingus’ A330 U.S. routes, including New York, Boston, Chicago and Orlando. You can check it out in this Youtube video. Meanwhile, the Irish carrier plans to boost SFO-Dublin service to daily frequencies (from the current five a week) on May 1, and to launch new Washington Dulles-Dublin flights four times a week on the same date.

American Airlines’ new baby. On Friday, American Airlines flew its first Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner (N800AN) from the factory in Everett, Washington to Dallas/Ft Worth. As part of a massive (and much needed) fleet renewal program, AA has firm orders for 42 more of the efficient widebody. American expects its first 787 to enter revenue service in the second quarter, flying domestically between American’s hubs for several weeks before being launched on international flights.

Delta downgrade? A blogger who specializes in scrutinizing Delta’s SkyMiles program says that Platinum elites are no longer eligible to request upgrades on the airline’s JFK-Los Angeles and JFK-San Francisco routes. The unannounced change would mean that only Diamond-level members can ask for upgrades on those plum routes. Anyone else encountered this new downgrade? Please leave your comments below.

United eyes new aircraft type. United Airlines is reportedly considering switching some of its existing orders with Boeing to an aircraft type not currently in its fleet: the 777-300ER. The carrier is said to be thinking about adding 10 of the planes — Boeing’s largest twin-engine model — possibly in place of some 787s currently on order. United was the launch customer for the original Boeing 777 back in 1995; the company already has dozens of Airbus A350 widebodies on order. What’s your favorite long-haul aircraft type? Why? Post comments below.

20 different biz class seats in 1 room- PHOTOS

A Hainan Airlines Boeing 787 like could find its way to San Jose this summer (Hainan Air)

New China service from San Jose, Dallas. Silicon Valley workers might not have to go to San Francisco International to get a non-stop to China starting in June. That’s when Hainan Airlines plans to begin non-stop San Jose-Beijing 787 flights five days a week, subject to government approval. The airline already flies to the Chinese capital from Boston, Chicago and Seattle. Meanwhile, the trade journal Travel Weekly reports that Hainan has also filed for U.S. approval to begin non-stop service to Shanghai from Seattle and Boston … American Airlines has received Transportation Department approval for its planned Dallas/Ft. Worth-Beijingservice, which will start May 7. AA will use a 777-200 for the daily non-stops. (Meanwhile, American is offering double miles for flights to Asia on AA and its partner Japan Airlines, for travel from now through March 20. Online registration is required.) Related: Did you see our story on the new high speed rail line between Beijing and Moscow?

This is the first time the Irish flag carrier has touched down at San Francisco International since departing during the dark recessionary days of 2009.

Here’s what you need to know:

>Aer Lingus operates a 267-seat Airbus A330-200 on the SFO-DUB route. There are 24 business class and 243 economy class seats (no first class). The flight, which will operate five days a week, departs for Dublin at 5:20 pm and returns to SFO at 3:20 pm. The flight takes 10-11 hours depending on direction and winds…it’s the longest flight in the Aer Lingus route network of 70 cities.

>At the moment, fares on Aer Lingus’ SFO-DUB nonstops are looking about standard for June flights.Business class on the nonstop flights is running about $5,500 roundtrip and economy is running from a low of around $950 to a high of about $1300 round trip. (You’ll find cheaper fares in both business and economy on one-stop flights from competitors.)

Currently, business class seats on Aer Lingus are “angled lie flat”

>Business class seats on Air Lingus are angled lie-flat vs the more comfortable true-lie flight (horizontal) favored by frequent travelers. At an airport reception for the flight yesterday, I asked CEO Christoph Mueller about this, and he broke some good news: Since the San Francisco-Dublin route is the carrier’s longest flight, it will be the first route to get new true-lie-flat seats (from Thompson) in business class later this year. SEE UPDATE 2.2105

>Currently, there are power ports in every first class seat, and every other economy seat and the plane offers satellite based wi-fi.Each business and economy seat has its own seatback video screen with a wide selection of movies, shows and games. Aer Lingus offers a unique bidding process for upgrades to business class. Details here.

>Having a new nonstop on SFO-DUB should be music to the ears of execs from Bay Area tech companies like Facebook, Google and LinkedIn who will likely be flying to/from their European headquarters in Dublin. The Irish Examiner reports, “There are 179 companies employing more than 36,000 people in Ireland from the West Coast of the US. These companies are primarily based in the technology and digital media sectors.”

>Aer Lingus is not a member of the Star Alliance, Oneworld or SkyTeam. However, it is a United code share partner. But the SFO-DUB route is not a route where the carriers share a code. Nonetheless, due to the partnership, United Mileage Plus members can earn miles on Aer Lingus flights… but there are limits based on fare paid. Business class fares earn 150% of base miles flown, but economy fares earn just 50%-75% of base miles. Many of the lowest fares do not earn miles at all. You can redeem 60,000 MileagePlus miles for economy round trips on Aer Lingus, or 140,000 for business class. Details here. In my conversation with CEO Mueller, he said that the carrier is working on boosting its frequent flyer program, but did not offer any other specifics.

>One of the best things about flying Aer Lingus is that passengers pre-clear US customs and immigration in Dublin before boarding the plane. That means when you land at SFO, it’s just like a domestic flight… you can hit the ground running as soon as you touch down. Aer Lingus currently flies into the international terminal (Boarding Area G).

Late March and early April is when airlines switch from winter to spring and summer schedules, and there is so much going on at Bay Area airports this week, my head is spinning! Some happy arrivals and sad departures.

Here’s what you need to know:

A festive scene greeted those departing on Saturday’s inaugural United nonstop to Taipei. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

>United launched SFO-Taipei nonstops on Saturday with a big colorful celebration at Gate 92 in the International Terminal. The gate area was festooned with about 100 paper lanterns, dancing dolls and a free dim sum buffet. San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee remarked that the rainy send off was a sign of good fortune for the route. SFO-Taipei now has service from United (B777), Eva Air (B777) and China Airlines (B747). Check out our Facebook page for more pics of the fun party!

SFO welcomed LAN nonstops to South America in 2010. Now there are none.

>LAN’s nonstop B767 flight to Lima, Peru departed SFO for the last time on March 31. This is particularly sad because it leaves the Bay Area without any nonstops to South America.

>Aer Lingus revives its SFO-Dublin nonstops Wednesday afternoon with a lot of fanfare and a “dry salute” (weather permitting) at the airport. Stay tuned to TravelSkills for a Q&A with Aer Lingus CEO Christophe Mueller.

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If you are headed to Atlanta, be sure to drop by The Varsity at the airport or downtown for a naked dog, F.O. and onion rings served with sassy southern hospitality. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

>Starting Tues, April 1, United will use 737-800s to revive its nonstop service on SFO-Atlanta, Flights depart SFO at 8:54 am and 3:33 pm and return from ATL at 6:55 am and 5:24 pm.

>Delta’s final SFO-Tokyo nonstop took off last Friday March 28, leaving United, ANA and Japan Airlines (to Haneda on a 787) offering nonstops.

>Air France’s A380 is back for the season and will be flying SFO-Paris through the end of October.

>KLM is now flying a nice Boeing 747-400 on SFO-Amsterdam sporting its nice new true lie-flat business class seat. (So glad to that ancient MD-11 go away!)

>Later this week, United will crank up a second daily nonstop from SFO to London for the season. United’s flights will arrive and depart at Heathrow’s stunning new Terminal 2– :

>Both Virgin America and Alaska Airlines have announced that they will skedaddle from the overcrowded San Jose-LAX market. At the same time, Southwest is bulking up at SJC with additional frequencies to: Denver, San Diego, Seattle and Orange County.

DELTA’S NEW SFO-LAX SHUTTLE. Today Delta announced that it will begin hourly, nonstop Delta Shuttle service between Los Angeles International and San Francisco International airports on Sept. 3, 2013. The Delta Shuttle operation will include 14 daily flights in each direction and a product tailored to business travelers operating similarly to its New York Shuttle. Flights will depart at the top of the hour beginning at 7 a.m. Monday through Friday and will be operated by Delta Connection partner, Compass Airlines using 76-passenger E-175 aircraft with 12 First Class, 12 Economy Comfort and 52 Economy seats. A Delta spokesman told TravelSkills that unlike the carrier’s NY Shuttle, the California operation will not have aircraft on standby, nor can passengers walk up and purchase tickets from a kiosk at the airport. The California corridor is getting HOT and super competitive. Delta’s product, using a two-class Embraer (with Wifi) is a comfy ride compared to some other airlines in this market. Delta’s boarding area at Terminal 1 now has PreCheck, too, which helps ease the journey. Hmm. Would you give up on your currentl mileage program and switch over to Delta to use this new shuttle product? Please leave your comments below.

An Aer Lingus A330 at Washington Dulles (Photo: Stephen White)

BIG GREEN PLANE BACK AT SFO.Aer Lingus announced that it will bring back its nonstop between Dublin and San Francisco starting April 2, 2014. The Irish carrier will use an Airbus A330 on the route, which will run 5x per week. Air Lingus business class seats are of the less desirable “angled lie-flat” variety which are not as easy to sleep in as United’s true lie flat product. MileagePlus members should be happy to know that Aer Lingus and United have a code sharing alliance. Air Lingus nixed the SFO-DUB route in 2009 as the global economy sputtered.

UNITED RETIRING 757’s. United is taking an aggressive approach to retiring its fleet of aging 757-200s according to a post this week on FlightGlobal.com. United currently has 129 757-200s in its fleet and has plans to retire 73 of them over the next two years, replacing them with new, more efficient Boeing 737-900’s. However, United spokesperson Karen May told TravelSkills that it intends to continue using its p.s. configured 757’s on the SFO-JFK run for the time being. Which aircraft do you prefer, the B757 or the B737? For me, the 757 is a torture chamber if stuck in standard coach. It’s a bit better in Economy Plus. First is okay, but still pretty tight for first class. On the other hand, on a recent short flight to Denver, I was lucky enough to ride on a brand new United B737-900 with 20 first class seats… and it was nice! What about you?

ROCKETMILES OVERSEAS.Remember when we wrote about Rocketmiles, the new site that offers mega-mileage bonuses for upscale hotel bookings in major cities in the US? This month, it expanded to 100 cities overseas such as London, Paris and Tokyo. Good news for SF-based flyers, Rocketmiles offers miles in United’s MileagePlus program and points in Virgin’s Elevate (and seven other airline programs). Customers earn an average of 7,000 miles per booking while paying roughly the same rates those found on other hotel booking sites. Have you checked it out yet? (Note: Join the 214 TravelSkills reader who have signed up for Rocketmiles via TravelSkills—we earn bonus miles when you book for the first time.)

RIDE/CAR SHARING BREAKTHROUGH? Just in time for another BART strike, the California Public Utilities Commission has proposed a way to calm the waters in the crazy ride/car sharing market that is disrupting public transport in the Bay Area and across the country. The commission has created a new category called “Transportation Network Company” (TNC) for companies like Lyft, SideCar, InstantCab, and UberX that connect passengers with drivers using their personal vehicles via smartphone applications. This new type of transport company must apply for permits from the state, obtain insurance, provide driver training, and impose strict no drug or alcohol requirements on drivers. SFO authorities, who have been arresting drivers issued a press release stating: “Such companies are currently prohibited from operating at SFO, but the CPUC’s proposed decision is a necessary first step in paving the way for safe, legal operations at the Airport. This proposal will ensure that ride-sharing is safe for the public, by requiring companies to screen drivers, inspect vehicles, and carry adequate insurance.” The CPUC issued the proposed decision on July 30, 2013. It’s not yet clear how the new rules might affects new companies at SFO such as RelayRides or FlightCar that are disrupting the airport rental car business. Stay tuned

FREE WIFI SAN JOSE-LAX. Virgin America is offering a free 30-minute snippet of Gogo wi-fi on its flights on the hypercompetitive SJC-LAX market. Details here. Southwest, the only other carrier with wifi in that market, charges $8 for access.

TORTUOUS DELAYS IN CHINA. And we thought delays at SFO were a headache…consider what it’s like to travel frequently from Beijing or Shanghai, where delays are so bad that riots are taking place at airports. In June only 18% of flights at Beijing Capital Airport departed on time, making it the worst airport in the world for punctuality according to FlightStats.com. Shanghai was only slightly better at 24% on time. The problem has become so bad that the Chinese have coined a new phrase for the angry mobs that form at airport gates: “kong nu zu”, or “air rage tribe.” (You MUST see this video of gate area anger antics. Wow!) The most significant delays seem to hit mostly domestic flights, so it’s probably smart to avoid using these airports as connecting hubs until the issues are straightened out. Instead, consider Seoul, Tokyo or Hong Kong.

PRECHECK FOR EVERYONE. Starting this fall the TSA will open up PreCheck to anyone willing to pay the $85 fee (good for five years) and submit to a background check, which includes an onsite interview and fingerprinting. Previously, you had to be nominated by an airline, or participate in the Global Entry program to use PreCheck lanes, which do not require travelers to take off shoes or coats, remove laptops from carry on bags, or submit to full body scanners. Currently, more than 12 million travelers are part of PreCheck, which is available at 40 airports nationwide. The TSA expects the expanded access to add another 383,000 travelers to the PreCheck rolls within a year. We are big fans of PreCheck… what about you? Do you use it? What’s been your experience? Have you ever been declined use of PreCheck lanes? Please leave your comments below.

Emirates Team New Zealand Waka lounge at Pier 32 in San Francisco (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

EMIRATES’ AMERICAS CUP LOUNGE. Have you been by Pier 32 on the San Francisco Embarcadero and seen that large boat-like structure out on the docks? That’s the hospitality lounge that Emirates Airline has set up for Team New Zealand. Last week Emirates invited TravelSkills to the lounge and out on the water to catch some Louis Vuitton Cup action. But I knew some TravelSkills reader would love to see what’s inside that big boat, known as a “Waka” in Maori. Check out my Google+ slideshow and let us know what you think!

MOST EXPENSIVE CITIES. What’s the most expensive city in the world for business travel? I would have thought it would be one of the perennial picks, such as London or Moscow…but Australia has taken over! Brisbane is now the most expensive city in the world for business travelers followed by Tokyo, then Sydney and Perth. Melbourne comes in at #7. In the US, only New York City ranks in the top 10. Here’s the list. What’s them most expensive city you’ve ever traveled to?

UNITED SCIMITARS. Look out your window next time you are flying United to see if the plane wing sports the sleek new “split scimitar” winglet, which is designed to help to reduce drag and improve the planes fuel efficiency. United says the new winglet will cut energy use by 2%, saving to $200 million per year. Currently only one United 737-800 has the new winglet, but starting next year, it will go on its fleet of Boeing 737, 757 and 767 aircraft.

PREMIUM ECONOMY PERK ON CATHAY. If you are flying in Premium Economy on Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong this fall, be sure to snag a certificate good for $100 off in-flight duty-free shopping here. Flights must be booked by August 22 for flights Sept 1- Oct 31.

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Editor Chris McGinnis

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